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Thu, Mar 20 2014. 12 07 AM IST
http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/revzMgLIUJ2s1d1hpLha0N/RTI-A-thrilling-but-sobering-experience.html?facet=print
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23/3/2014
Bureaucrats are not alone. Every arm of government has repeatedly sought to resist RTI and calls to amend the law are now a regular occurrence. This is hardly surprising. RTI exposes government decision-making to the possibility of scrutiny, thus challenging traditional modes of getting things done. And this generates a new set of pressures that need to be negotiated. Responding to the pressures of RTI requires striking a delicate balance between the need for discretion in decision-making and the imperatives of transparencyhow to ensure that transparency in appointments doesnt curb the discretion to hire the right people? How to ensure that transparency in political parties doesnt encroach on the internal workings of parties? Crucially, it requires tackling head-on the causes of administrative failure and the breakdown of rule-based decision-making, including the vexed questions of bureaucratic incentives, political influence on career paths, staff capacity and so on. Negotiating this complex world of transparent governance requires imaginative political leadership. On this, the Congress, for all its support to the idea of RTI, has quite simply failed. Rather than actively engage with the challenges posed by RTI, it has been at the forefront of efforts to amend the law. And this has also emboldened efforts to resist RTI. It is now commonplace for bureaucrats and politicians to argue that RTI has made decision-making impossible. This failure to provide the leadership needed and build the foundations of a transparent government is sobering, for in the long run it may mean that a significant opportunity has been lost. Yamini Aiyar is a senior research fellow and director of the Accountab ility Initiative of the Centre for Policy Research.
http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/revzMgLIUJ2s1d1hpLha0N/RTI-A-thrilling-but-sobering-experience.html?facet=print
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